Having been brought up on raw, unpasteurised milk, I am happy to feed it to my
family.

Those of us who choose to drink ''raw’’ milk are a tiny minority – barely more than 100,000 – so why is time and money being wasted trying to stop us?

The latest attempt is launched by Dairy UK, the association representing the producers and processors of 85 per cent of the milk sold in Britain. Dairy UK has demanded that the Food Standards Agency (FSA) ban the sale of unpasteurised milk, citing food safety and the “safe image of dairy products”.

This is baffling. If there were widespread and regular food poisoning outbreaks linked directly to drinking raw milk, then the industry as a whole would undoubtedly suffer, and the eccentrics who insist on milk au naturel ought, probably, to be saved from themselves.

But according to FSA figures, not one outbreak has been reported since 2002. Before that, the FSA says, illness due to unpasteurised milk accounted for a ''small proportion’’ of the total number of food-borne outbreaks between 1992 and 2002. I think we can say that raw milk has become a safer, not riskier, product over the intervening years.

I prefer to drink raw milk because I believe it to be more wholesome than standardised, homogenised, pasteurised milk. It can only be obtained direct from one of the 104 farms in England and Wales that are licensed to sell it. Each farm is regularly inspected, at the farmer’s expense, by both local and national authorities. Cattle are rigorously checked for disease, including TB. I would argue that dedicated raw milk producers pay more attention to hygiene than those who rely on the safety net of pasteurisation.

The label on a bottle or carton of raw milk carries a lengthy and strongly worded warning that ''This milk has not been treated and may therefore contain organisms harmful to health.’’ No one is forced to drink it, and it is good form to tell someone when unpasteurised milk has been used or is being offered.

Given all this, and the fact that, sensibly, the FSA appears to be making no attempt to bend to Dairy UK’s demand, why seek a ban at all? It is well known that the British dairy industry is in crisis, but that is largely due to the low prices being paid for milk. Scaremongering – and that is what I believe this to be – is a misguided and cack-handed attempt to enhance the industry’s image and impress retailers and consumers. But it is a futile exercise when the truth is that raw milk is as safe as pasteurised, if not more so. Having been brought up on the stuff, I am more than happy to feed it to my family – and to raise a glass to its future.

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Such a shame what’s been done to Shane

What has she done to him, the nation cries, as it surveys Liz Hurley’s newly primped and preened consort, Shane Warne? Gone is the rumbustious bon viveur whom women secretly lusted after. Gone are the love handles and the naughty grin that were so much a part of his beach-blond Antipodean charm. Urgent action is needed. Liz must ban the diet drinks he claims have helped him shift two-and-a-half stone in four months, hide her moisturiser – and start feeding him up again. The Aussie spin bowler was once a man of unbridled appetites. Suppress them and you’ll live to regret it, Liz. It’s well-fed men who stick around for second helpings.

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If the Camerons get back early, you’ll know why

One week into their Tuscan villa share, and I’m wondering how the Camerons and their friends are all getting on. Has it yet turned into the Villa Furioso? Because such family holidays have their pitfalls – and their stereotypes. There’s always the female guest who thinks she’s having to do it all. She probably is, and not by accident, having been craftily recruited at the planning stage. “We were thinking of getting three families together and taking a villa in Abruzzo,” said my friend, Edward. “James and Emma are coming – she loves cooking, too.” Fortunately, I knew Edward’s wife does not, and warning bells rang. Being told you love cooking usually means that’s all you’ll be doing. I made my excuses.

It is not the only hazard to be aware of. To stop the endless whine of “Josh is being nasty to me…” you decide to confront Josh’s mum (your best friend) about his behaviour. Of course, she defends the nasty little bully and so that evening’s meal is taken in silence. Watch out, too, for new mothers, who have the perfect excuse to never even put a plate in the dishwasher (if there is one). Still, if the atmosphere gets tetchy, Dave and Sam have their own perfect excuse – a global financial crisis needing attention back in London.

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I do worry about Gwynnie

Marriage is not always rosy, Gwyneth Paltrow has admitted. Being together for a long time can be hard, says the actress who has been married to Coldplay’s Chris Martin for seven years. She was responding to rumours – false – that their relationship was in trouble. I commend her honesty, but I do worry about her. A dedicated mother of two, Oscar-winning actress, fashion icon and guru, whose teachings via her Goop website range from beauty tips and how to light a wood-burning pizza oven, to geo-politics, home cooking and the benefits of organic wine, 38-year-old Gwynnie is doing too much. Being wed to a rock god and ministering to his ego, too, must be hard to fit in. The pizza oven will have to go.